We are two months away from our meeting in Timișoara, for the S24H international endurance running competition.
This year, the event ambassador is Nadeem Khan, the current acting president of IAU – International Association of Ultrarunners.
Those who attended the 24-hour European Championships in Timișoara in May could meet him at the “Mindset of high performers” seminar, where he was the moderator, but also during the competition, where he enthusiastically cheered up the athletes.
The current acting president of IAU, Canadian Nadeem Khan, born on December 29, 1978, is a Medical Physicist specializing in Radiation Oncology.
He has been practicing athletics since he was 10, when his first coach was his father. During high-school and when he was a student at the Toronto University, Nadeem Khan was a medium-distance runner, but he has committed himself to ultra-running since 2000. He was also two times a member of the 24 Hour Ultrarunning Team of Canada.
We invited Nadeem to answer a few questions to get to know him better. If you wish to find out other things about him and his activity, you’ll have the opportunity to talk to him in person in September, as he will be in Timișoara, for the S24H 2018 competition.
An interview with Nadeem Khan, current acting president of IAU
1) What motivated you to get involved in the IAU?
I have always been driven by opportunities and challenges. The challenge of running long distances and the opportunities to push the limit to beyond my current capabilities is what got me interested in ultrarunning in the first place. I have been a runner pretty much all my life, but tipped my toes in the ultrarunning waters in the late 90s.
My first introduction to the IAU came as an athlete and not as an official. I had the honour of representing my country Canada at the IAU 24 Hour World Championships in Taipei. In that race, I was exposed to this global governing sporting body the “International Association of Ultrarunners” and saw first-hand the responsibilities that the officials carried in organizing these events spanning countries across the world.
I was mesmerized not only by the magnitude of the event, but also by the jitters that comes with running on the global stage. The following year I ran again at the 24 Hour WCs in Drummondville. Shortly after which I got selected as the Assistant Team Manager for Canada making the transition from athlete to team management for the first time at the 1st IAU Trail World Championships in Houston.
At this time I was having more interaction with the IAU and I was witnessing on how the governing body for ultrarunning was operating. I was intrigued, interested and motivated to be part of this growing movement in the world of athletics. The opportunity came to run for elections as a Director of the IAU Council in 2008 and Association of Canadian Ultrarunners (ACU) supported my nomination.
I have always been of the mindset that change happens from inside-out. I cannot change things or make constructive improvements by being an arm-chair critique. I have to get involved and be part of the process in some shape or form to be intricately involved in the progression. I was hoping in my own small way be part of developing this wonderful sport and progressing it further globally.
I am thankful and appreciative to this day that the global delegations in that congress hall in Tarquinia in Nov 2008 trusted in a previously unknown candidate and elected him to Council. That changed my involvement in ultrarunning and set the path for my development as an official.
I took the position of Director of Communications which I held for 8 years until I got elected as Vice President in Los Alcazeres in 2016 stepping into the role of Acting President in 2017.
2) Share with us something that impressed you very much at an ultramarathon race, as an official.
I have had the opportunity of witnessing over 40 international IAU ultra events. The grit, the determination and the will-power of the thousands of athletes I have seen over the last 10 years as an official has been extremely inspiring and immensely stimulating to keep being part of this global ultrarunning movement.
The one thing that highlights our sport and is the cornerstone of what we pride ourselves in is the camaraderie amongst athletes. This friendship amongst competitors transcends international boundaries. The championships are a big reunion to make friends with new acquaintances and also deepen friendships with people one has known for years.
It only makes sense to develop this deep sense of companionship with your fellow racers with whom one will be embarking not only on a race but a journey. A passage that is a perfect metaphor of life which takes you through ups- and downs- like we would on our journey through life. This journey becomes easier when you share with all the other individuals around the course going through similar experiences.
This camaraderie was evident when for the very first time in the history of the IAU we introduced the first refugee athlete to ever run in an IAU championship during the opening ceremonies at the Trail World Championship in Badia Prataglia. The athlete was welcomed by all in the championship and made him feel part of this big family of ultrarunners.
This feeling of companionship and friendship is reinforced every time I am at a championship, national events or weekend races.
3) What would you say to a person that runs an ultramarathon for the first time?
Enjoy the experience. It is not a race, but a journey. A journey that does not just commence when the gun goes off at the start of the race. But long time before when you start training for the event.
Pacing is the key to running an ultra. Distances are longer than we normally are used to and its common human nature to start off faster than needed, not comprehending the longer distances. I have been guilty of that several times myself.
Nutrition and how to manage eating and drinking breaks is something that comes with experience. It also varies from distance to timed events and are also a reflection of an athlete’s fitness going into a competition.
I would also suggest first timers to network and make friendships. Learn first-hand from other ultrarunners around them and see what works for them individually. Ultrarunning is a very individualized sport in the sense that what works for one might not for another.
The key is to transform what we learn to one individualized plan that could be tried and implemented for that first race. Also, its imperative to remember that there is something to be discovered from every race, whether one is a rookie or a veteran of ultrarunning. It is a learning process and process that continues every-time that one toes that start line.
4) How would you describe your collaboration with Romania?
In one word “Fantastic”. I have a lot of respect for President Florin Florea of the Romanian Athletics Federation (RFA). Florin has put ultrarunning on the Romanian athletic map.
My first meeting with Florin and Diana Amza, President of Romanian Ultrarunning Department was when I was in Sveti Martin, Croatia for a press conference in November 2017. Both of them drove almost 12 hours to come and meet with the IAU delegation to present their bid for the 24 Hour European Championships.
The commitment, the drive and the dedication on their end was immeasurable and I was convinced soon after meeting them that this will indeed be a long lasting partnership. I accepted their invitation and visited the head office of the Federation in Bucharest in January 2018.
This partnership today has resulted in organizing the best 24 Hour European Championships in our history. This was also the championships where we had the first Romanian team participate in an international ultra event.
By establishing the ultrarunning department in the Federation, both Florin and Diana are actively promoting the sport throughout the country. Romanian ultra athletes for the first time have the opportunity to showcase their talents on the international stage in world and continental championships.
This development is what we seek and what we aim for in all our new member federations. Romania has taken this to heart and elevated it to a promotional and development stage in a very short period of time. The fruits of the hard-work was quite evident in Timisoara with two Romanian national records being established in both men’s and women’s fields.
Our collaboration with Romania is strong. I am confident that we will continue to work closely with the RFA growing this friendship and organizing many more world class events in Romania.
5) What is your vision for the global ultrarunning community?
My vision is to take ultrarunning to far reaches of the globe. To make it truly a global event with membership that spans across the continents and different regions of the world.
I believe that this can be achieved by not signing federations on just an application form but rather working with these federations in growing, promoting and developing the sport in these countries.
The vision always revolves around athletes at the center. The spotlight should always be on athletes performance and how best to showcase their talents on the world-wide forum. To have seminars, conferences and events for athletes at our championships to share their knowledge and information to the local running community is an integral part of growing together as an ultrarunning family.
We have taken a more instructional approach at our major IAU championships. When we organize these events we take an active role in teaching the members of the local organizing committee on the different aspects of putting an event of this magnitude together.
We impart knowledge on organizational, protocol, logistics, technical, communication and other aspects. This allow the members to continue what they have learned in their future organization of events.
The world and continental championships alternate. The concept was introduced to take the sport to regional levels and allow newer federations to bid for these championships and also federations to develop the sport by sending their athletes to a continental event.
Implementing strategic planning and marketing ultrarunning to garner more exposure to our growing sport. This is something we have been working on over the last year and will be rolling out soon to market globally.
